Junior Golfers and Golf Course Etiquette

Golf is in Good Hands

Recently I was visiting a club and waiting to meet the superintendent. During my wait, I had the pleasure to watch several groups of junior golfers play a hole. What I saw was really a sight for sore eyes.

Every group that came through this particular hole had an understanding of replacing divots, raking the bunkers, and playing ready golf. If only everyone could have seen what I did. It makes me ashamed when I see adults not observing the most fundamental courtesies of golf course etiquette.

To illustrate my point, one child took a big swing and an even bigger divot. Unfortunately, he only hit the ball a few feet. Afterwards, the boy took great pains to retrieve not only one piece of the divot, but also a smaller piece and carefully place the divot back from where it came. Once the divot was in place, the boy gently tapped the divot down, almost like saying, “I’m sorry for disturbing you; please rest in peace.”

Another child hit his ball into a bunker. After hitting his next shot out he promptly and carefully raked the area like a professional caddie so that the next youngster that ventured into the area would find the best lie.

One of my co-workers gets really upset when individuals fail to hold up their end of the rake, so to speak. One of my personal pet peeves is hitting a nice drive into the middle of the fairway and finding your ball in a miniature Grand Canyon. It doesn’t take so much time to retrieve the divot or fill the divot with a sand/seed mix. Your playing partners will not accidentally confuse you with Bernhard Langer. For those of you who ride in carts on occasion, those canisters of seed mix next to your clubs are not ornamental; they are functional. Still, the superintendent would faint if a person came to him asking for a refill.

The person in charge of those juniors has done a great job in explaining to them the proper way to replace divots, fix ball marks, rake bunkers and maintain a reasonable pace of play. I would have to say these kids take better care of the course better than most of their adult counterparts.

Watching those kids that afternoon brought back a lot of wonderful memories about my first few experiences as a junior golfer. I am so thankful that a few people donated their time and energies to help me play and understand this great game we play.

So much has been said about the children of today and their disdain for tradition, structure and boundaries. The actions I saw that sunny afternoon on the golf course gave me hope for the future as well as for the game. Golf is truly in good hands when the players of tomorrow treat the game with respect and dignity.